Robert Scoble mentions that Napster is coming back… From what I’ve seen on the MCE 2004 with Napster added into the Online Spotlight, I think it’s pretty cool. I wonder how the “You will need to provide your credit card information to redeem your tracks.” and the general need for a credit card affect the service for people just a tad younger than me (I’m 20, yikes almost said 19).

I tend to agree with the point of view given by Chris in your IM chat. I like him, also don’t care about having CD’s, in fact I’ve sold off every CD I’ve ever bought. On the other hand we have my Mom, I have pretty eclectic tastes so luckily she just copies the music off me (which is actually just on my server anyway. While she listens to music on the computer, she’ll still burn a copy for the car and will still buy the used CD’s from a local record store.

The RIAA only have themselves to blame, the blatant price fixing of CD’s, the rigidity of their distribution practices, and also what I think is another key factor; is the way the major music companies ride their artists like it was high tide in San Clemente. While the latter can’t be said for the MPAA since they don’t have to give out a dividend of sales to their artists. The two main issues hold true for them as well. For me, the only reason why I should buy a CD or DVD through retail distribution is if I truly love the work, or in the case of a movie really want the special features and own a good physical copy. I really hope that both industries adopt WM as a new standard (without getting into quality debates, etc) but because it’s already a proven DRM method, and can quickly be implemented in the wild.

Tags: Media, Music